The nationwide strikes and protests against Wal-Mart on Black Friday have highlighted the problem of low-wage, low-benefit employers. It’s a good time to review some economic factors behind the low-wage, low-benefits phenomenon and the true social costs of labor.

This Thanksgiving I had a lot to be thankful for. As usual, I was thankful for my family and friends but this year I was thankful for something new, something different. 

The program that sustains millions of those who are experiencing long-term joblessness is under severe threat. Emergency Unemployment Insurance (UI) will terminate suddenly at the end of the year unless Congress takes action. An extension of UI is at risk, as are many other programs which have been lumped together under the misleading label, “The Fiscal Cliff.” Two million job-seeking Americans stand to lose their basic subsistence income shortly after Christmas.

Now is the time to raise necessary revenue fairly and in ways that won't dampen economic recovery.

It is amazing how the world has evolved in such a short amount of time.  Who could’ve imagined that the ability to rally millions could be done in a matter of seconds?

Tonight will be our last opportunity to see the candidates in a debate. In the previous debates neither the President nor his opponent has mentioned global warming. The moderators have failed to ask about it. Wouldn't you like to hear their stances on this important issue?

Graduating in the midst of high job unemployment was one of the hardest things my peers, friends and I have ever had to face. What was supposed to be one of the most exciting times of our lives was filled with anxiety and stress of an unpredictable future.  

On Friday, the nation received some welcome news. Unemployment dropped to 7.8% and payroll jobs increased by 114,000. Immediately after the figures were released, Jack Welsh, Romney supporter and former General Electric (GE) Chief Executive, tweeted: “Unbelievable jobs numbers..these Chicago guys will do anything..can't debate so change numbers….”

President Obama missed two responses to Romney's feeble statements.

For more than a generation, Republicans have claimed that tax cuts for the rich will fix almost anything that ails the economy. Mitt Romney is no exception. Have these tax cuts worked as promised?

 Did you know it's now easy -- not just to Buy American, but to Buy Union, too? I didn't. 

“Among the business and professional classes and their economic supporters the conviction holds that any property or income legally acquired represents the productive services rendered by its recipient….” This statement was made by the brilliant British economist J.A. Hobson in 1938 during the Great Depression. Mitt Romney’s followers provide a modern example of the “conviction” of which Hobson spoke, when they say “We built that.”

Back during the Republican convention, Mitt Romney asked if Americans are better off now than we were four years ago.   This question really makes no sense, as several observers have pointed out...

School is starting again, but as President Obama said Saturday, there will be fewer teachers waiting for the students this year. The White House has issued a new report titled Investing in Our Future: Returning Teachers to the Classroom. The study finds that...

With the selection of Paul Ryan to be Mitt Romney’s running mate, the contours of November’s election have become much more distinct. The election is fast becoming, as Jared Bernstein remarks, a “plebiscite on the role of government.”

In today’s economy the problem, as pointed out in this space last week, is austerity economics. The solution, as outlined in a new report, is Prosperity Economics.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, released late last week, show an economy that continues to struggle because there is not enough demand to purchase the output that could potentially be produced.

The medium income has decreased in the last decade, but the income of the wealthiest Americans has increased 40%.

A study released last week highlights the extent to which high profits and low wages are interconnected and provides more evidence that the minimum wage should be increased.

One of the most persistent, and pernicious, myths about the U.S. economy is that we are “overtaxed” as a nation. The data, both historical and comparative, is clear. We are not overtaxed; rather taxes are at record lows.